John, the area around the perimeter of the land is probably six feet higher than the middle. That's where I put the new plant. Like I mentioned earlier...I was in the process of purchasing several plants to ship back. Just didn't follow thru. Wasn't anything really new that I "needed" or had to have. Durian, longan, and lychee cannot be exported. Ch3rri...santol was okay but certainly nothing to get exicted about. There is all that flesh but there seems to only be a small portion that has any decent flavor. The flesh clings to the seed like no other I've ever experienced. You would probably either wear your teeth down or just pass out thru exhaustion trying to clean off the seed. That nursery gave us a bagful to take with us. The bite you saw me holding in the pic was the ONLY piece of santol I took in the whole trip. Just wasn't worth it when we had so many other delicious fruit to choose from. Beautiful tree though.

sylace, I LOVE your Cumaru floor so much! Thank you for sharing your beautiful kitchen. I don't have any advice on a backsplace but if others do, I can give opinions on what I like that they show you. What width are your beautiful floors? I just love how you mixed dark and light stains making your kitchen not only beautiful but so interesting and one that is warm and inviting.

How much hand-washing do you do--sterling/silverplate, crystal, plastics, pots and pans? Or, do you throw everything in the DW? That would factor into the decision---if you throw everything in the DW, then you are mostly looking down while you scrape the plates and load the DW. But if you hand wash many items and enjoy gazing at the view as you work, then an off-center sink will work better. Also, how much prepping do you do before cooking? Chicken nuggets, frozen pizza, canned vegetables, or do you cook from scratch, and spend a lot of time rinsing and chopping vegetables and meats? If the latter, then the solid wall will be in your view while prepping, if the sink is under the left window. A couple of other things to consider are 1) distance from sink to range and 2) distance from sink to fridge. NKBA's recommendation for prep space is 48" (36" minimum), so with the sink centered on the studs, you'll have the perfect amount of prep counter. With the sink offset, you'll have an extra step or two between the sink and range, but extra steps are good exercise. :) The recommended max distance between any two appliances in a work triangle is 9' (108"), but in the plan with the off-centered sink you'd have almost 11.5' (136"). Again, just a step, or two, so if you don't cook a lot, it won't make that much difference. The island, as drawn, also intersects the path between sink and fridge, (but not more than the NKBA recs), but I have an idea which will eliminate that and incorporate the support posts. Other advantages to having the sink closer to the range, are that it leaves more prep space on the left side, for a helper, and more space to store dishes on that side, so a helper can unload the DW, or gather dishes to set the table, without interfering in your prep tasks. I'm posting this here, instead of the other thread, to save time. You might consider using a table/island combo, with the table being the same width as the outside measurement of the posts. NKBA guidelines GW Kitchens discussions--dishes in drawers

You will NEVER notice that the island is not centered. The only thing centered in my whole kitchen is the cooktop and hood between the two windows. Nothing else. Not the island. Not the sink on the island. Nothing. The only time you will ever notice it's not centered is when you're standing dead center in front of the island and how often do you think that will happen?If you prefer 2 lights over the island do 2. If you prefer 3, do 3. If you prefer a single long pendant do a single long pendant. If you prefer high hats, do those.